This invention relates to certain pharmaceutically active substituted 6,5-hetero-bicyclic derivatives, pharmaceutical compositions containing them and methods of administering them to subjects in need of their corticotropin releasing factor antagonist activity.
The substituted heterocyclic derivatives claimed in this case exhibit activity as corticotropin releasing factor (hormone) CRF (CRH) antagonists.
CRF antagonists are mentioned in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,605,642 and 5,063,245 referring to peptides and pyrazolinones, respectively. They are also referred to in the following: PCT Patent Application PCT/IB95/00439, which designates the United States and was filed on Jun. 6, 1995 and published on Dec. 14, 1995; PCT Patent Application PCT/IB95/00373, which designates the United States and was filed on May 18, 1995 and published on Dec. 21, 1995; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/448,539, which was filed in the PCT on Nov. 12, 1993 and entered the U.S. national phase on Jun. 14, 1995; PCT Patent Application WO 95/10506, which was filed on Oct. 12, 1993 and published on Apr. 20, 1995, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/481,413, which was filed in the PCT on Nov. 26, 1993 and entered the U.S. national phase on Jul. 24, 1995; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/254,820, which was filed on Apr. 19, 1995; Provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/008,396, which was filed on Dec. 8, 1995; and Provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/006,333, which was filed on Nov. 8, 1995. All the foregoing patent applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
The importance of CRF antagonists is set out in the literature, e.g., P. Black, Scientific American SCIENCE & MEDICINE, 1995, p. 16-25; T. Lovenberg et al., Current Pharmaceutical Design, 1995, 1, 305-316; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,245, which is referred to above. A recent outline of the different activities possessed by CRF antagonists is found in M. J. Owens et al., Pharm. Rev., Vol. 43, pages 425 to 473 (1991), also incorporated herein by reference. Based on the research described in these two and other references, CRF antagonists are effective in the treatment of a wide range of stress-related illnesses, mood disorders such as depression, major depressive disorder, single episode depression, recurrent depression, child abuse induced depression, postpartum depression, dysthemia, bipolar disorders and cyclothymia; chronic fatigue syndrome; eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa; generalized anxiety disorder; panic disorder; phobias; obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, pain perception such as fibromyalgia; headache; gastrointestinal diseases; hemorrhagic stress; ulcers; stress-induced psychotic episodes; fever; diarrhea; post-operative ileus, colonic hypersensitivity; irritable bowel syndrome; Crohn's disease; spastic colon; inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis; pain; asthma; psoriasis; allergies; osteoporosis; premature birth; hypertension, congestive heart failure; sleep disorders; neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type, multiinfarct dementia, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease; head trauma; ischemic neuronal damage; excitotoxic neuronal damage; epilepsy; stroke; spinal cord trauma; psychosocial dwarfism; euthyroid sick syndrome; syndrome of inappropriate antidiarrhetic hormone; obesity; chemical dependencies and addictions; drug and alcohol withdrawal symptoms; infertility, cancer; infertility; muscular spasms; urinary incontinence; hypoglycemia and immune dysfunctions including stress induced immune dysfunctions, immune suppression and human immunodeficiency virus infections; and stress-induced infections in humans and animals.
The compounds of this invention are also believed to be inhibitors of CRH binding protein and therefore useful in the treatment of disorders the treatment of which can be effected or facilitated by inhibiting such protein. Examples of such disorders are Alzheimer's disease and obesity.